Depends on the Day
by niki-chan2
Summary: She doesn't want him to go and he certainly doesn't want to leave her. Willabeth drabbles, post At World's End.
1. Part 1

**Depends on the Day**

Will/Elizabeth. A collection of drabbles taking place after _At World's End_. Hopefully you stayed past the credits to watch the final scene. And the title is taken from the movie when Bootstrap tells Will that ten years is a long time to wait for one day on land and Will looks at Elizabeth and responds that it depends on the day.  
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.

* * *

She doesn't want him to go, and he certainly doesn't want to leave her.

She smiles at him because if she doesn't she is sure she will break down and beg him to stay (and that would be pointless, of course, because he _can't_ stay, and no amount of begging on her part can ever change that).

He knows he is asking too much, but he simple can't imagine going on without her.

"Will you wait for me?" She nods, but he is a noble man, and he wants her to be sure. "Ten years is a long time."

She puts her hand on his cheek. "My husband," she whispers, and he smiles at the sound of that. "I would wait a hundred."

* * *


	2. Part 2

**Part 2  
**Disclaimer: I own nothing

* * *

She feels a kick as she rest a palm on her ever-growing belly. 

This is certainly not the way she had planned she would start her family, but she wouldn't want it any other way. (She is lying, of course, because what she really wants is for him to be here with her.)

There is another kick, and she starts a mental tally.

Nine years, four month, one week, and three days.


	3. Part 3

**Part 3**  
Disclaimer: I own nothing

* * *

It is not as though he thought he would ever miss her any less, but he had hoped that with each passing month the pain would simply become more tolerable. (It didn't.) 

His father tells him time passes slower when you count the days, but he can't help but mark a tally with each sunset. (He doesn't tell his father, this but somehow he knows.)

He has gotten used to the void in his chest, but he is certain he will never be used to the void _she_ is meant to fill.


	4. Part 4

**Part 4**  
Disclaimer: Not Mine

* * *

The day their son his born she starts writing him letters. She now writes one every few days and intends to give them to him to read over the next ten years. She doesn't want him to miss a moment in their child's life. 

She names him William and calls him Bill. "Like your grandfather," she whispers to the sleeping baby in her arms.

She knows he will be happy to learn of this.


	5. Part 5

**Part 5**  
Disclaimer: Not mine

* * *

It amazes her how quickly the days pass now that she is a mother. Her son is almost five years old, and she knows she is finished with more than half of the waiting.

Bill looks more like his father every day and this makes her smile.

When she puts her son to bed she tells him stories of his father and their adventures together. She always finishes by promising the boy he will meet his father soon.

Once the boy is softly snoring she slips into her own bed and closes her eyes. She can hear the quiet thumping coming from the chest locked in her drawers. If she tries hard enough she can imagine he is there next to her.


	6. Part 6

**Part 6**  
Disclaimer: Not mine

* * *

When he sees her standing on the shore with the child he knows instantly that the boy is his son. If he still had his heart he is certain it would have skipped a beat or two. 

He sees her eyes tear up when the boy runs towards him and wraps his arms around his waist.

"Meet your son," she says proudly, reaching for her husband's hand. "His name is Bill."

He squeezes her hand and wraps his other arm around his child.


	7. Part 7

**Part 7**  
Disclaimer: Not mine

* * *

She rests her head on his chest as he holds her tightly. They know their day is almost over; he can't imagine how he will ever manage to leave her again. 

"Ten years is a long time," he whispers as he places a delicate kiss on her forehead. "I think you have grown even more beautiful than when I left."

She smiles and gently runs her fingers over he scar on his chest. He hears his son's laughter, followed by his father's, as they play outside.

"It must be hard," he says, suddenly too serious. "Raising a child on your own." She knows what he is implying and her heart breaks for him. "Ten more years-"

"My husband," she interrupts, kissing him softly on the lips. "I would wait a thousand."


	8. Part 8

**Part 8**  
Disclaimer: Still not mine

* * *

He reads and re-reads her letters so as to be certain he doesn't miss a single detail. 

By now he has memorized every word, every curl of her handwriting. Another ten years has almost passed and his son will be nineteen by now. She will have just passed forty.

When he looks in the mirror his reflection still seems not much more than twenty.


	9. Part 9

**Part 9  
**Disclaimer: I still own nothing

Thank you so much to everyone for the wonderful review! I truly appreciate the positive response! This next part is dedicated to all of you.

* * *

When she sees him again she pretends not to notice that he hasn't aged a day. When he sees her he doesn't notice that she has. 

He does notice, however, how much their son has grown. It is odd that his child looks no more than a few years younger than he. The boy is strong, and she tells him he is a good man ("Like his father.")

He meets his son's fiancé and laments that he will be unable to attend the wedding.


	10. Part 10

**Part 10**  
Disclaimer: Do I have to say it?

* * *

She wants to tell him everything he's missed these past ten years. She wants to tell him of her latest adventures with Jack on the Pearl, of their son's hereditary love for the sea. She wishes to tell him about the woman who holds the young man's heart (figuratively, of course, and she no longer finds it strange that she needs to make that distinction).

But there are too few hours in a day. She must settle for summaries and overviews. She doesn't dwell on this; after all, he can read of it in her second batch of letters.

So instead they speak of time, and sunsets, and a love that manages to survive through it all.


	11. Part 11

**Part 11**  
Disclaimer: You know the drill.

Again thank you so much for all the amazing reviews!! I am eternally thankful!!  
Also, I know there is a rumor floating around that there is a deleted scene that explains if Elizabeth is faithful for the 10 years, Will will be released from service on the Dutchman. Personally I hope this is true, but I am choosing to ignore it for the sake of this story.

* * *

This is the third time he has had to leave her and it seems as though each occasion is more painful than the previous. 

Twenty years he has served as captain of the _Flying Dutchman_, Twenty years spent away from his wife and son, save for two solitary (wonderful) days. He has only just left and he has already started counting down the next ten.

Nine years, eleven months, three weeks, and six days (it is all he can do not to count the hours as well). It seems like an eternity. And for the first time he realizes what he has been condemned to.

An eternity.


End file.
